On this special date, I have been thinking what article I could write to celebrate my beautiful island in the sun. Then I also remembered having a conversation with my ex-director about the various Mauritian sites I’ve had the chance to work on, when I was at Netgroup. Hence the idea of writing about how Mauritius is being represented on the web through different local websites and more specially those I’ve developed.

To begin with I must say that Mauritius is being slowly and surely better represented on the web now. With the emergence of several web agencies in the country we can now see local sites of better quality may it be graphically or functionally. Besides I seize the occasion to also mention all those Mauritian bloggers who have also brought their participation in giving Mauritius an identity on the net.

Apart from websites, we also have social communities, the most famous one being Facebook, which has subtly taken its place in Mauritians’ everyday life. And local companies have very well understood the extent of this phenomenon! Hence the creation of many Facebook pages about local organisations, companies or events.

We therefore see how Mauritius, despite being late in technologies, has been able to reach the internet and make its position. Mauritian companies are understanding the importance of having a web presence in the sense that they are moving with the trend and that if they wish to go international, the internet can be a key success factor. Concerning, our local people, they have also grown an interest in the internet not only for research but for leisure and social purposes. Thanks to the web, Mauritians are being able to work for international companies without leaving their country as well as keep contact with family and friends abroad.

Coming to the different local sites I’ve developed as a web developer at Netgroup, I have made up a little list. It’s like my own hall of fame, I would say, because I particularly feel proud to have had a role in building those sites. It is a pleasure to have contributed to bringing more Mauritian sites on the internet and thus make Mauritius better known to the world! So, here’s my little list, hope you have a visit on the sites:

Maurilait – the website of our local dairy products manufacturing company

Mauritius Villas – a local website about villas offers in Mauritius + other services

Dodolidays – the very first local website I’ve developed incorporating an e-commerce module, it’s all about renting, buying residential properties as well as other services

So this is my salute to my beautiful country, where together with the Netgroup team, we have been able to promote local websites and on behalf of that same team, I wish all those for whom we have worked, to keep their websites alive and thus keep the Mauritian presence on the net. And I hope more and more local websites will emerge and that soon e-commerce becomes more popular among Mauritians…

Till then let’s celebrate our nation, our freedom, our dynamism in wishing to make this country progress and achieve heights even if it is just a little dot in the Indian Ocean.

I was going to post the message I sent to the staff club members (on behalf of the staff club committee) for this Independence Day but then while reading it again some thought crossed my mind.

I was thinking how indeed beautiful is our island and how lucky we are to be island peeps. We have been able to merge both exotic/rustic and modern in our lifestyle. We are exposed to new technologies – the internet, mobile phones etc. but we have also kept our traditional habits – “ene bon bouillon brede, satini coco ek chips”.

I’ve been also realising that we have integrated both modern and natural structures together in our local landscape. You may very well see long mountain ranges from your office window (some even see the sea). It makes you feel like you are surrounded by nature not only concrete. When I drive back home, I like to admire the evening sky, see people back home dressed in their “linze lakaz” like removing their working mask and becoming carefree islanders.

Mauritians are truly versatile people. They have not only been able to adapt to various cultures in the country itself but they have also been able to merge foreign cultures/habits to the local lifestyle.

It is absolutely wonderful to find a parallel of worlds co-existing in such a little country. When you leave the town for the country side or for finding nature, you actually feel the change of atmosphere!

Yes, we are indeed lucky to live in Mauritius. For a few hours'(at times minutes only) drive we already reach natural places – the beach, forests, mountain ranges or lakes and we feel connected to all this even if we lead modern, hectic lives.

May we learn to preserve our natural treasures for coming generations. Let our children also discover the beauty of this island, its kaleidoscope of cultures and its ever welcoming nature.

P.S: My message mentioned earlier can still be found here (for those who like to read 😛 )

To every Mauritian, the 12th March means not only the Independence day but also a special time to think about our nation, our daily lives in our country and also the different cultures present in our little island.

Far from all the political aspects of the event, the 12th March for us is, according to me, a time to rejoice about our Mauritian culture. Yes, we should be grateful that today we are free and independent but I believe more emphasis should now be put on the new generations. A bigger focus on how we are to live this freedom together, how we are to bring this nation forward on the world map.

Above all, I believe it should be a day where we celebrate each and every Mauritians. A day where we really enjoy the fact that we live in this little paradise. A day where we try to pay a tribute to our special Mauritian culture…In short it should be more of some big celebration among ourselves, fellow Mauritians – maybe on the beach, at sunset with grilled chicken and beer 😛

We are to at least realise our luck of living in our little island in the sun and therefore to really grasp this, why not go out, discover it, enjoy it and appreciate it to its true value?

Also, it’s a time to ponder about how to make our nation progress because mind you politicians are not to be relied on. If we want to go further, we will have to bring our own contributions. And it all demands some effort from us all – some sincerity in our work, for example, would really help us all in improving our quality of life! If each and every Mauritian employee (specially in the public sector) could show some dedication to their job, we could reach better quality of service and therefore happier clients and healthier businesses.

Those are of course things to think about. And since I’m talking about ways of making our island a better place, have a look at this Google Moderator website – Ideas to make Mauritius better! – where fellow Mauritians have posted their ideas of how to improve things in our country. Together, we could really make a difference so let’s just take some time to think about what we can do at individual level…

I’ll thus wish all of Mauritians a happy national day and may our cultures always flourish together!

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